Classico pasta sauce is one of the most popular jarred Italian sauces on the market and for good reason. However, it’s not just the taste that attracts people to this brand, it’s the jar. Classico uses mason jars, famed for home canning. Thus, Classico pasta sauce jars seem perfect for re-use. So, can you reuse these jars?
The truth is that whether or not to re-use Classico mason jars depends on what you want to reuse them for. The jars used by Classico are not the type of mason jars you’d buy for home canning. These jars are stamped Atlas Mason, recalling an actual mason jar company that no longer exists called Hazel-Atlas, whose jars were stamped Atlas. However, the jars Classico uses are not actual mason jars and were NOT intended for home canning. The jars being stamped Mason Atlas has more to do with marketing than anything else. They are lighter than actual mason canning jars, although the seals and rings for mason jars will fit on them.
Therefore, you should NOT use empty Classic jars for home canning! However, they certainly are suitable for short terms storage of any number of foods or liquids. You can of course store dry goods in them to your heart’s content. Just make sure they are clean. The lid design provides a good, airtight seal. And, you can store liquid items for a short time in the refrigerator. For example, say you need to make a small batch of powdered milk. You could use an old Classico “mason” jar for this purpose. Basically, you can use a Classico jar for anything you might re-use a commercial jar for, besides canning and since the lid design is more secure, they will work quite well.
To be clear, Classico says do not re-use them for home-canning. They say nothing of general re-use for non-canning purposes:
Can I reuse the Classico® jar for home canning? No. A coating is applied at the glass plant to reduce scratching and scuffing. If scratched, the jar becomes weaker at this point and can more easily break. This would increase the risk of the jar breaking when used for canning. Also, the lighter weight of our current jar could make it unsafe for home canning. 1Classico. “Frequently Asked Questions.” Find Answers, heinz.custhelp.com/app/answers/list.
Classico jars may not seem particularly light and fragile when you handle them, but if you compare an empty Classico jar to an actual mason jar, just as a Ball mason of the same size, you will notice a difference in heft and you’ll be able to tell that the glass is indeed thicker.
According to some sources, such as HealthyCanning.Com older Classico jars, used during the 1980s and into the ’90s, were made of thicker glass but the fact that they were thicker still doesn’t mean they were suitable for canning, and there is no evidence that they ever used actual canning jars. It does appear, however, that both the old and new jars are popular for canning. Since the glass was not manufactured and tempered in the same way as a true canning jar, all bets are off as to how well they will hold up under extreme heat. If you use a Classico jar for canning and it fails, don’t blame Classico. As far as general re-use, I use them all the time. They are great for storing small non-food items as well.
If you do a lot of canning then finding jars to re-use is a good idea. You can often find mason jars at garage sales, thrift stores, and flea markets. Don’t re-use the seals and lids, to be safe. If you are just getting started, basic home canning supplies are not all that expensive.
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